The idea for this film was solid, but the execution was a bit lacking.

The trickery with lighting to hide Harvey's "bad" side was a nice approach, as the makeup, or what seemed like a mask, was never exploited. The Penguin also looked solid.

There were times when the writing was done well. The "...if I only had a brain" line was a nice touch. The Penguin's lines though were obviously ripped right out of Batman Returns, which sadly came as no surprise seeing as how heavily influenced you seem to be by Burton's Batman in your previous efforts.

The writing was also shaky when Scarecrow threatens to leave, then stays put for no reason.

The Joker "intimidating" Harvey was too quick. The tension that should have been clear and present wasn't allowed the time to build.

Also, when the Joker enters, he throws Robin's chest piece down on the table, then exclaims that there are bigger problems to come. But film's end, the "bigger problem" had still yet to be revealed, unless killing Jim Gordon was to be the "problem". But then how would killing Gordon be a problem? Realistically, it'd make a life a little easier for the Underworld seeing as a strong alley of Batman was out of the way.

Speaking of Gordon...killing him at the end of the film was a complete waste. There was zero buildup in the writing that lead to the killing, and it came off underwhelming, and worse, out of nowhere. It was unnecessary and added nothing to the story.

The Mad Hatter was also fairly useless. Outside of bringing up Batman, he didn't contribute anything or help progress the story. The film wouldn't have suffered had he not been written in at all.

I have to mention that the villains, outside of the Joker, were not developed at all. There was a bit with Harvey, but not much. This seems to be a problem you have continually run in to with your previous Batman films. There was very little that separated the other villains' personalities from each other, outside of some meaningless dialogue.

Overall, you are getting better, be it a little at a time. If it were an option, I'd give this a 2.5, but that's not an option. Biggest thing is you need to develop ALL characters that are written into the film. It not only helps the viewer invest in these characters, it also helps elevate the importance of the story.